In The Pipeline:

This week, given that the paper’s issue is published on Thanksgiving, I thought I’d include some of the things I (and my family) am most thankful for here in Huntington Beach.

Before that, however, this historian/trivia nut wanted to share a few related nuggets — Minnesota raised about 46 million turkeys this year, making it tops in national turkey production. It is followed by North Carolina (39 million), Arkansas (31 million), Virginia (21.5 million), Missouri (21 million) and California (16.8 million).

These six states together will probably account for about two-thirds of U.S. turkeys produced in 2007. North Carolina produced 702 million pounds of sweet potatoes, more than any other state, followed by California at 381 million pounds. Of the billion pounds of pumpkin produced this year, Illinois led with 492 million pounds, while California, Ohio and Pennsylvania each produced at least 100 million pounds. Notice how well our state is contributing?

For the record, there are three places named “Turkey” in the United States — in Texas, Louisiana and North Carolina. Eight places are named “Cranberry” (or some spelling variation of the word) and 28 towns are named “Plymouth.”

More Thanksgiving trivia: Though the precise date of the “first” Thanksgiving is not known, we’re taught it supposedly happened between Sept. 21 and Nov. 9 1621, right? As the story goes, the Plymouth Pilgrims dined with the Wampanoag Indians for the first Thanksgiving, and the event lasted for three days. Edward Winslow, a participant at the event, said the meal consisted of corn, barley and fowl, including wild turkeys and waterfowl and venison. About 50 Pilgrims attended the “First Thanksgiving” in 1621 along with about 90 Native Americans. But was it truly the first?

At the beautiful Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Va., they beg to differ. Yes, this plantation holds a boatload of American history. It is the birthplace of Benjamin Harrison, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and of his son, President William Henry Harrison. As well, the haunting military bugle call “Taps” was composed at Berkeley when General McClellan headquartered 140,000 Union troops in 1862. (Union General Daniel Butterfield adapted the music for “Taps,” and it was played for the first time here in July of that year by bugler Oliver W. Norton.)